LINGUIST List 8.1183

Thu Aug 14 1997

Qs: Trans, H. Pedersen, V2, Bib, French

Editor for this issue: Martin Jacobsen <martylinguistlist.org>

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Dear LINGUISTS:
In my work as a translator from French and Ancient Greek into
English, I always try, insofar as is possible, to render different
French and Greek words by different English words; in other words,
once I translate *logos* by 'definition', then I will always render
*logos* by 'definition' (if I deviate from this practice I will add a
footnote, or the Greek original in transliteration) - and I will never
translate any other Greek word by 'definition'. What guides this
practice is my belief that the Greekless or Frenchless reader ought to
be able to tell when the original author used what terms, and where.
Many of my colleagues don't seem to think this is important;
what's the view of the Listmembers?
Cheers,
Michael Chase
(goyauvic.ca)
Visiting Scholar
Dept. of Greek and Roman Studies
University of Victoria
Victoria, B.C.,
Canada.

I'm reasonably confident that Biblical Hebrew is verb-second (despite
the statistical prevalence of VSO), and that there is an obligatory
topicalization that I can identify. the question that arises is, on
what basis is a particular element fronted over the others? I'm trying
to formulate some weighted rules to predict ordering in context. It
seems to me that I ought to be able to formulate hypotheses based on
the behaviour of other V2 systems. so in German, e.g., are there
studies of which element is promoted in V2 constructions? if anyone
is aware of such studies, presumably cast in functional terms, I would
appreciate some recent references. thanks in advance. (I remember
references in passing to stats on German V2, e.g., in which it was
subject promoted 60%, in Lightfoot 1991, referring to Gerritsen 1984,
so there must be stuff around.)
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Vincent DeCaen <decaenchass.utoronto.ca>
Hebrew Syntax Encoding Initiative
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~decaen/hsei/intro.html
c/o Deparment of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
4 Bancroft Ave., 2d floor,
University of Toronto,
Toronto ON, M5S 1A1
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We live in an age in which even our anxieties have been privatized.
- James Laxer

Hello everybody! I've just subscribed to Linguist and I'm already
starting to ask you questions...
So, here it goes:does anyone know the exact references of a
paper which was published by George Lakoff in 1973 under the title "On
felicity conditions"? Where can I find it?
If you are on holidays... do enjoy them! If you are, as I am,
taking some of your free time to develop some research... I wish you a
good work!
Filomena
-
Maria Filomena Capucho
Tel: +315. 32.421965/424664
Fax: +351. 32.428344
Pers: +351.32.428839/+351.936.314690